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Worsening diplopia with no explanation
Autoimmune Diseases | Last Active: Dec 27, 2020 | Replies (47)Comment receiving replies
Hi all,
I'm new to this sight noticed these are older postings, but maybe it will help others ?
About 8 yrs ago, I woke one morning with vertigo, maybe two weeks after noticed the first sign of double vision. I've seen all the appropriate doctors and was diagnosed with vertical visual diplopia.
One eye closed or not I see double. Over the yrs my vertical diplopia has morphed, I never know what variations I'm gonna be in for. Sometimes its Horizontal like 3 and 9 o'clock, sometimes its say at 2 and 8, and others. (5 n 7 look like upside down Micky mouse ears).
For the most part I've grown use to it.
BTW My Mother had the same vision problem, she was fifty when her vision changed, mine changed at 52 but they say its not hereditary? maybe its environmental? or autoimmune?
I was unaware of vision therapy, will defiantly look into it. After Covid.
In the last 5 months I've been diagnosed with PMR an autoimmune disorder, I wonder if its not all connected in someway, but the Doctors say no?
Absolutely the last place I want to be is in a doctors office, considering the Covid virus. But the pain was so intense, really had no choice. So three Doctors later, I'm on prednisone for the pain, I have no idea what the side affects are gonna be considering, my vision as it is?
Donna
Replies to "Hi all, I'm new to this sight noticed these are older postings, but maybe it will..."
Hi Donna @pmrpainat60 I would also like to welcome you to the Mayo Clinic Connect. It is a place where we can all learn from each others experiences. Sorry to hear of your annoying diplopia. In order to find a remedy for your diplopia I feel it would be helpful to find the cause. Have you considered Graves disease? There could be many causes. My diplopia is the result of a cerebral aneurysm. A friend of mine living in Pennsylvania had diplopia after suffering a concussion as a result of a fall. She later suggested vision therapy to me. I live in central Florida. The closest office to me was 40-45 minutes away so I decided not to pursue it. How can anyone with vision disturbances travel to an office, right? Well, it worked out well for my friend. After several weeks the eye exercises help to eliminate her diplopia. When I got the exciting news from her I decided to call the vision therapist near me just to learn more about it. I was told that I would firstly need to come into the office for an assessment which may take upto 3 hours to complete. The results of the exam will conclude if eye exercises will offer help. If exercises can help, a treatment plan will be determined and the length is dependent upon the need to meet those goals. A twice a week office visit may be difficult for me. Anyways, I was also told most medical insurances do not accept this treatment. In my friend’s case she paid for the services herself. I am glad her treatment gave positive results. Originally she had placed a prism in her eye glasses for help. After completing her eye exercises she had her prism removed. Hope this helps. Wish you well. Toni
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Hi Donna @pmrpainat60, Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I don't have diplopia but I do have PMR which is currently in remission. When my PMR was active they were always questioning me about my symptoms to determine if I also had Giant Cell Arteritis which is interrelated with PMR and can affect vision. I did find an interesting article which may show a relationship with PMR.
An unusual case of diplopia - Asking the right questions leads to the correct diagnosis.
- https://www.ophthalmologymanagement.com/issues/2017/may/an-unusual-case-of-diplopia
The pain from PMR can be awful and I'm certainly glad mine is still in hiding and hope it never comes back. I'm not sure what dosage of prednisone your doctor/rheumatologist started you on for the PMR but for my two occurrences I was started on 20 mgs and was able to taper off in 3-1/2 years the first occurrence and 1-1/2 years the second time around which was about 3 years ago. I think it's not uncommon to have multiple autoimmune diseases. The worst side effect of prednisone for me was weight gain. The second time around I was aware of that side effect so was able to keep it to a minimum.
You may be interested in the following discussion related to PMR.
- Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR): Meet others & Share Your Story: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/polymyalgia-rheumatica-pmr-meet-others-share-your-story/
@avmcbellar and @ashby1947 may have some suggestions for you also.
Hopefully you won't be on prednisone long term. Did you get a chance to discuss the side effects of prednisone with your doctor?